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Today's News

Serving in Africa
Kristofer Reynolds left for Botswana, Africa, on Friday and will return on May 26. This is to plan for his unit’s four-week annual training in July and August.
While they are there, they will be building and repairing a road.
Weekend Guests/Visitors
Weekend guests of Dane and Belinda Harpster of St. Peter were Mitch, Gretchen and Owen Harpster of Cape Girardeau, Mo., and Mahala Harpster of Gray Summit, Mo.

Critter Corner
Certain Birds of a Feather…
…seem to be returning, or at least some of them are.
When I was a kid, seeing red-winged blackbirds was a common thing as we would be driving along the roads, but the last few years, we hadn’t been seeing them (although Dee Dee Diveley had mentioned she saw them in her neck of the woods).
We had never seen them on the Homestead since we moved here, about 27 years ago. Then, in the last two weeks, we have seen them along our lane.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Wednesday, May 23
• Royal Neighbors of America, 1 p.m., Phillips Building.
Thursday, May 24
• The St. Elmo Unit of Home and Community Education, 1:30 p.m., St. Elmo Public Library.
Saturday, May 26
• The St. Elmo Alumni Banquet, 6 p.m., high school gym. Doors will open at 5 p.m. Those attending are to go in the south doors of the gym to pick up the tickets and name tags.
Sunday, May 27
• A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. at the Old Loogootee Cemetery.
Monday, May 28

The Vandalia public swimming pool will open on Monday and will continue to operate throughout the summer.
Because Monday is Memorial Day, the pool will be open from 1-5 p.m. only, but regular hours for the pool will be:
•Sunday-Friday, 1-5 p.m. and 6-8 p.m.
•Saturdays, 1-5 p.m. and private parties from 6-8 p.m.
Single-day admission to the pool is $4, with children ages 4 and under admitted free, and swimmers may return for the 6-8 p.m. sessions if they have their hand stamped.
Season passes are also available.

The storms that moved through Fayette County on Sunday afternoon and evening included winds that appeared to blow hardest through Brownstown, where the damage included a large tree behind the Christian Church being uprooted. The winds also damaged a number of trees across the street in Brownstown Central Park.

Crawford-Hale American Legion Post 95 of Vandalia plans to put out its Avenue of Flags display on Memorial Day, and it is again asking for volunteers to help with the display.
Anyone who is interested in helping to put up the veterans’ flags that make up the display are asked to report to the Legion Home at 321 S. Seventh St. at 6 a.m. on Monday.
Volunteers will also be need to take down the flags on Monday afternoon.

Local veterans organizations will honor those who died while serving in the military with programs on Monday.Vandalia
Crawford-Hale American Legion Post 95 will hold its Memorial Day program at 11 a.m. at the Legion Home, located at 321 S. Seventh St.

Students who plan to participate in extracurricular activities at Vandalia Community High School now will be subject to random drug and alcohol testing.
That policy, adopted by the district board of education at its April meeting, expands the previous policy from athletics to all extracurricular activities – which are defined as “any activity where students represent Vandalia CUSD #203 voluntarily and for which no academic credit or grades are rewarded.”